Wheels' Bike Blog

Life Goes On, On or Off a Bike

2012-01-10T10:45:00.000-05:00

I happened along the blog of the fiercest competitor I know in Jonny Bold and was shocked to learn he has hopped off the bike for the immediate future. Of course I can relate to his terribly mixed emotions. But something triggered an alarm in him to say stop. It may have been the crash, or it may have been the crash as an excuse. Either way, the motivation has stopped and the quest for it begins anew. It may not return.
His rhetorical question "...who gives a shit?" is what I can best relate to. Why was I spending hours alone on the road training, driving to races, and racing? For a sponsor? For my ego? For a mid-life crisis? For fun?
All I know is, I was acting extremely selfishly and was NOT racing for my family who didn't attend 1 race my best and final season of my career. So, I'm done, for now. But I admire, respect and applaud all those who are able to find the proper lifestyle balance and are riding and racing for fun. Please enjoy it, in part for me, and I hope to join you again, for fun.
In the meantime, my energy and wallet is focused on these 2. If nothing else, the ridiculous amount of driving throughout New England to races prepared me well for the same ridiculous amounts of driving to hockey games. Damn the cycling gods must be angry for handing me 2 goalies!

Typical Day of KHS MTB Team Training!

2010-09-14T10:29:00.001-04:00

Bike Commute Stage 1

2010-06-29T10:57:00.002-04:00

My evolution from racer to rider has begun. Summer racing is being replaced with 1-way bike commuting. It's a 15 mile jaunt from ice rink to lake house that takes less than an hour. It is complete with 1 stoplight and a ton of elevation change. The 2007 Major Jake is my bike of choice. I drive in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays mornings due to a 7am ice rental and home Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, but ride in the others. It's certainly nothing to brag about. But a roll in the right direction to at least get some riding in once a day and save some gas as well.
So happy summer everyone and enjoy your time on the bike no matter what the situation!

Something's Gotta Give

2010-03-25T10:24:00.007-04:00

This picture is going to cost us approximately $2575 and at least $320/month in gas alone October-March.

The equivalent of a typical race season for me I estimate.

Can't do both.

Reality check time.

Had a Big Wheel as a kid...

2010-03-02T20:45:00.004-05:00

Now I have big wheels as an old kid!

It's 29" for 2010 for me thanks to Kona.
I guess I better start training!

When in Maine...

2010-01-26T20:47:00.003-05:00

...go ice fishing and such!

When in Maine...

2010-01-06T07:12:00.003-05:00

... go sledding!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and New Year!

Nothing to Say, Nothing to Post

2009-12-16T07:35:00.006-05:00

I am currently residing in the cold, dark post race season cave. So deep, I wonder if I'll race at all next season. I've been spurred by Rick to write. But I am uninspired. I stopped riding altogether the day before Thanksgiving and am simply bored with my life off the bike. Why would I bore anyone else who might read this?
I highly recommend you check out the following links instead to help brighten your day:
Jonny Bold Wins Natz
Any bike-related movies. These are funny as hell!
Other NE cyclocross blogs
See you on the flip-side of winter.
Maybe.

Calling it a Season

2009-11-30T10:03:00.004-05:00

The finish came quicker than I thought so I just coasted across the line.

I had every intention of closing out the CX season by attending the final 2 doubles. But the real world got the better of me and I finally put the priority list in proper order:

1. Family

2. Work

3. Racing

All season #1 and 3 were inverted. It was time to do the right thing by being a dad and husband and spend the weekend with the family at a hockey tournament instead.

It was close though! I actually had the bikes loaded on Tuesday as the plan was to have Thanksgiving on the Cape then Friday and Saturday nights at a hotel in Exeter, NH a mere 90 minutes away from Sterling.

My dad was slated to come up and take the fam to the Saturday games while I raced. Then we would all go to the Sunday event hoping the team didn't make the finals. That was just stupid thinking!

Instead, I hung the bikes for the winter, ate and drank like a starving cyclist all weekend and had a blast! Of course I missed the opportunity to race. But my biggest regret was not actually the riding the bike thing, but missing out on earning points for the overall series. More stupid thinking! Big picture reality is no one really cares where I end up so where's the motivation?

It was fun while it lasted though and I'll be watching the results for all the cool guys still racing out the season.

Looks like a major restructuring of my goals and race plans for next season is in order.

Holy Hockey Weekend!

2009-11-23T09:51:00.003-05:00

If this past weekend is any indication , the finish to my cycling season is a sprint away.

I spent more hours in a rink with my boys this weekend than I did on the bike all week.

Observe:

Friday: Drake's game

Saturday: KHS exhibition game sadnwiched between a Fenix double header plus the UMaine vs BC game in Orono!

Sunday: Drake's game

Add the fact I worked at the rink half-day Saturday and all day Sunday, I am semi-frozen.

Hopefully I can get to Sterling this weekend but it conflicts with, what else, a hockey tourney in NH.

The season, she is a changing!

KHS Bike Polo 2009

2009-11-17T08:25:00.001-05:00

What do you do with a mountain bike team when the season is over and it's snowing? Play bike polo of course! 1 kid actually broke his leg later. This ain't no Sunday group ride!

Sunday's Epic Cycle-Smart Cyclocross 2009 Pro Men Crash

2009-11-13T07:37:00.001-05:00

Here is the wreck I avoided. It's a blink of the eye after I pass with the Boo guy and it's a crash fest! I can't imagine the impact some of those guys had to endure. It ends with poor Adam Craig looking slightly out of sorts.

Verge NECCS #10 Cycle-Smart International Race Report

2009-11-12T17:38:00.002-05:00

Elite
Saturday 20th/52

So what was left today? After a night spent in Cambridge where I reloaded calories and took an ice bath, it was back to the scene of the crime. It’s hard to say whether I was actually fatigued or whether I was just trying to convince myself I was; a perfect alibi for a lackluster performance. Fact is I was not superpsyched to race. But the weather was phenomenal and course conditions were as pristine as the day before so at the very least, I told myself it’s a great day for a ride!
I spun a few laps again. The course had a similar feel but the sand trap and off-camber climb were significant fixtures this time. We rode the entire length of the sand and it was difficult not to get bogged down by the end. The climb was totally rideable. But a cleverly placed s-turn just ahead of it limited your ability to get good speed heading into it. I planned to drop to the middle ring. The legs felt OK, but my warmup was lackadaisical aiding me in my plan to use fatigue as an excuse.
The big question was, what was the start going to be like? To my surprise, it was set up exactly the same as yesterday. I joked with Adam Craig at the line (he was a row behind me, again!) how he missed the previous day’s wreck. He said he wanted to talk with everyone before the start and stress to chill out. Well, before he really got the chance, an announcement was made there was a $200 preme for the first lap leader! So much for rational thinking. Throw money at some starving pros and it’s a dog eat dog world. Thankfully I was not wearing my milkbone kit!
Sure enough, the whistle blew and it was a gongshow. I was 2nd row in the middle with my hands in the drops ready for powerful braking. I had some room and just worked my way through the gears. I heard some commotion but never laid eyes on what occurred. Colin has the video from the crash. Everything must have went down right behind me because as I rounded the first turn desperately trying to hold on the Sexual Camel’s wheel, there weren’t too many blokes behind me. I couldn’t believe my fortune! In fact, I was so elated I forgot there was a race going on and I was missing out on the train ahead of me. Crap those guys are fast! I was quickly the caboose and gaps formed out of every turn. Whether it was lack of legs, cardio, or bike handling, I was going nowhere but backwards. I think I was actually telling myself to go into conservative mode rather than capitalize on my start and bury myself for a few laps.
Either way, despite the encouragement from Nathaniel Ward to “close that gap,” I was soon in no-man’s land for the first couple of complete laps. At some point I connected with Wayne Bray and I rode behind him but never close enough to benefit from a draft. This was really dumb riding on my part. Then I started noticing a colorful trio in the turns. John Burns (unlucky DNF the day before : read fresh legs!), Dave Wilcox and Colin were working to reel us in. apparently we all ride the same speed because the names were all the usual suspects from the day before! I checked their time gap for a couple of laps and realized they were closing. Wayne must have sensed this before I as he virtually sat up and let me by. At this point I made a commitment to go hard and see if I could at least maintain my distance solo. At my time check in the upper section they were even closer so I knew the gig was up. I wouldn’t say I let them bridge up, but I will say I couldn’t go any faster. So I hopped on the train. Burns did his share of work but it looked like Wayne was really the strongest of the group. After the climb with a few to go, Burns Wayne and I put a bit of distance on Colin and Dave somehow. I spurred the boys on but it was not meant to be. Colin and Dave were right back on. We rode around as a pretty fluid unit for the remaining laps and minds started shifting to how the final lap would play out. I felt pretty confident I would have something if it came down to a sprint finish as the group riding was a bit easier than my solo efforts. The monkey wrench in my plans was the sand pit. I lost touch with the guys every lap. I consistently entered it way too slowly and exited barely turning the pedals over. Colin I knew was killing it! My only hope for earning a gap to the finish was for some kind of entanglement to occur that didn’t include me. Thus, my plan was to run the pit the final time. I dismounted right at the entrance and to my delight watched Wayne go head over heels! He righted himself quickly and was still out of the pit ahead of me, but had bike issues and I got by. Unfortunately, my plan was slow and the trio got ahead of me eliminating me from a sprint possibility. Colin capitalized on his advantage out of the sand and went on to finish first in our group followed by Wilcox who rode Burns’ wheel until the last second. I was content to have won my “sprint” out of the sand by beating Wayne by one spot for the 2nd day in a row.
I was thrilled to have made the top-20. I felt a little regret for not having delivered a better finish to coincide with a good start. But once the results are in, who knows how it came about and who cares?! I’ll take the points and $ and run, err, ride!
Got a couple of weeks off, then I hope I can squeeze the Sterling races in around Drake’s hockey tournament. Until then, I’m enjoying the nice fall riding, but really starting to hate the training!

Verge NECCS #9 Cycle-Smart International Race Report

2009-11-12T10:41:00.003-05:00

Elite
Saturday 25th/53

Whew. That weekend took a lot out of me! It has been a challenge getting back into the work and ride routine. Spending time blogging was bottom of the priority barrel. After a day off and 2 recovery rides, the motivation is returning and I’m beginning to feel whole again. Best part is I didn’t have to dedicate any time to cleaning the bikes. Weather and course conditions were that pristine!
So the racing was both memorable and forgettable. Start line crashes are certainly at the front of the memory bank as well as the course in general. But a lot of the actual middle part of the racing was not dramatic enough to highlight. In fact, I am having a hard time remembering much about day 1. Really makes you want to read on, eh? Well, here goes.
Saturday
I drove down solo per usual straight to the gorgeous venue that is Look Memorial Park in Northampton, MA. Sun and dry temps in the 50’s made for primo conditions. I got a few recon laps in on the course. It dizzyingly wound its way on the lower flat grass section where fast cornering was the norm, then after a loose dirt run up, looped about a wooded section where avoiding the roots was the focus. Fun bonus sections included jumping over train tracks a few times. The start section was what warranted the closest scrutiny. It began as a 10-wide road section with metal barriers on either side. The barriers eventually tunneled to like 5-wide in an attempt to get us over a curb at 90 degrees and onto the grass. The assumption was racers would realize this was a hazardous section and hopefully chill a bit as the race would most certainly not be won here but easily lost. The carnage that was the first lap of the 2nd Downeast race should have clued people in! Well that assumption made an ass out of whoever thought it.
I had a sweet 2nd row call up. I’d been practicing my starts and was pretty confident I’d get through in good position. The rest of the course had me a bit concerned as there were a lot of power opportunities and I wasn’t too sure where I stacked up there. Fortunately, there were no super long stretches and I was optimistic I could escape with a top-25 if paired with a good start. Of note, Adam Craig lined up behind me. Apparently his UCI points had not been tabulated yet. I really wanted to just get out of his way! We took off and I was in the swarm of killer bikers. From what I remember, we made it to the grass but that’s where bikes and bodies started flying. Apparently front rower Josh Dillon’s chain broke on the pavement and that started some of the calamity. I managed to get to the grass but was brought to an abrupt halt as Michael Broderick turned into a barrier in front of me. I managed to hop off the bike in constant fear of getting run over from behind by the likes of Craig. Somehow my handlebar was caught in
Here's a video of the calamity. I'm all the way across along the course tape in white.
Broderick’s front wheel holding me up further, but I got it untangled and got underway again.
Funny thing was before the race Broderick was joking how it takes a bit of magic to have a good race. Looks like he got tapped by the black magic wand. There were a few others guys around me but we were way back. We hit the sand and encountered another traffic jam. I hopped off and ran then totally botched the remount relegating me to absolute DFL. I immediately went into decision-mode: pull-out and save some strength for tomorrow or push on and take what I can get. I gave myself a lap to decide. I got into a decent rhythm, was picking off riders and was pretty much having fun and enjoying the course despite the major effort I was putting out. So the remainder of the race was using riders ahead of me as goals to pass. It seemed to work pretty well. If I remember correctly, with a few laps to go I encountered folks like Colin Reuter, Christian Favata, Wayne Bray, and Dave Wilcox. The way I remember it is Wilcox was on a late-race resurgent ride and drove the pace. I got into the middle of the group and was trying to stay on Favata’s wheel who would kill it on the flats but slooow in the turns. I found myself leading after the upper section but didn’t want to pull everyone on the flats since I had worked hard enough alone coming up through the field. I slowed before the barriers and let folks pass (pro logic). I ended up botching the remount and they all got a gap (amateur execution). So instead of working within the group, I now had to bury myself again just to catch it. Thankfully I made it back. From there I really don’t remember what happened. The pace was spicy thanks to Wilcox as he sensed the urgency of not getting lapped and I lost contact with him and Favata after the final sand pit. Colin had dropped off after he and Favata tangled on a turn. Wayne was upping the ante behind me forcing me to give ‘er to hold whatever my position was. Glad I did, because I nipped the final points and $ place. I would have been pretty bent if I expelled all that energy and had nothing to show for it.
In summary, I survived a major wreck and for once was able to salvage a decent finish despite the adversity. The big question was, what did I have left for tomorrow?

2009-11-07T21:01:00.001-05:00

NoHo: Run over Broderick in crash @ start. Eat grass after sand pit remounting. DFL. Ride rear wheel after barriers. Don't get lapped by Powers. Finish in $$!

Swine!

2009-11-03T08:37:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was the championship race for the Maine High School Mountain Bike Series.
I wish we went! The H1N1 virus arrived on the Kents Hill School campus last week and the athletic department decided to cancel all contests in an effort to minimize the spread to others.
This was a fitting cap to a wacky season that saw 2 races washed out. Pretty much sums up the whole XC race scene this summer. Oh well, good thing 'cross stops for nothing or no swine!

Verge NECCS #8 Downeast Day 2 Report

2009-10-27T09:39:00.006-04:00

Elite
14th/43

Don't worry, these results are not going to my head! Although the weather conditions were dramatically improved to a warm sunny day, the course was in my opinion uglier than the day before. Gone were the big wet puddles and rain showers to wash the liquid mud off the bike. In its place was the hateful drying, sticky mud that hung on to your bike and body like crabs to a crotch. The shit just kept multiplying! The wooded sections were barely rideable up or down and the open fields were saturated leaving you no break from keeping power to the pedals.

I took a 15 minute pre-ride on my pit bike, bagged half the lap, scraped the mud off the bike and dropped it off in the pits hoping I would never have to see it. I gained no course knowledge and didn't even have an idea how the start was going. I returned to warm up alongside John Burns and I had nothing but disdain for the course and my thoughts on how I thought the race would go. "Suck" was my best descriptor. JB tried to motivate me be letting me know how cool it was that I beat MTB pro Mike Broderick the day before. That was cool, for a second, then I realized the pressure was on to have another solid performance again today, in this swine of course.

An oddity I noticed was folks like Myerson, Lindine and Ward weren't even spinning on trainers. What did they know that I didn't? Was this race going to be such a shit show it didn't even matter if you were warmed up?!

No matter, I was going to get through this and be happy with a finish, period. I did my best to recover the night before with a sushi, pizza meal, followed by an ice bath, a restless night's sleep, then blueberry pancakes in the morning. The legs felt decent, probably given the fact they weren't taxed too heavily on Saturday.

Today I got a 2nd row callup! WTF is happening?!

That's Manny Goguen behind me. I was hoping we would be riding together again today but he had a stellar outing and finshed about a minute ahead.

I have never been so close to Timmerman's ass before! It's shapely. I was deep in the doubting-my-ability-cave when the whistle blew and I ride off blindly following the wheels of the front row guys. I'm pretty sure I lost a handful of positions en route to the first wooded descent where all hell broke loose in front of me. Turns out these guys up front are pretty committed to either winning or losing a race on the first lap no matter the conditions as Colin and I surmised after the race. A little give and take early on could go a long way towards having a solid finish.

Guys were criss-crossing and banging into and yelling at each other all over the place forcing many of us behind to hop off our bikes. Funniest thing was Colin riding through laughing and yelling "Yeah, bike racing! You guys are doing it all wrong!" The melee put me in a long run up a normally rideable climb and relegated out of the top-20. So much for a good start and having a good day I thought. From there, it was survival mode riding slippery sections in a group. On the pre-ride there was a stone wall that I thought was un-rideable and I dismounted in preparation for it. When I came upon it someone had done some altering and it was now rideable, which was nice, but not for this lap. I stayed on the gas where I could and began the long and slow process of picking up positions over the next couple of laps. At one point I was the cream in the middle of the Colin and Kevin cookie battle for supremacy and got to hear some of the heckling those guys have to endure!

I soon deduced I was going to have to race the course and let the result come as it may. Second lap I bridged up to Burns and Rubijono. I cut JB off a bit on a quick run, then got my just desserts as Rubi stumbled and I had to dismount as well. What I wanted was to essentially mountain bike race: get alone and find my own line through the crap. There were a few stealth lines on the trail edges, including a nice piece of singletrack through the trees that I found a couple times. The bike was performing really well save for a couple of skips in the gears. For the record, I didn't use my pit bike all weekend. I dragged that race bike from start to finish with half the course on it.

Long story short, cheers from fans (sorry I couldn't thank you all out there, I was in the pain asylum and not allowed to acknowledge visitors!) and Freye plain old yelling at me to ride harder kept me going. LaFlamme's encouragement saying I had "only 4 laps to go" was tough to swallow though! I was happy to hear my placing at the end. My time wasn't exactly stellar and I no doubt advanced spots thanks to some of the leaders taking each other out, but I feel OK about backing up Saturday's result with this one.

Major equipment advantage today was my Shimano/Hutchinson tubeless wheelset. The traction and mud-shedding ability of this combo really helped get me through.

On a personal note, I relished the support from folks like my OA/CycleMania teammates, friends like Freye and Hattie, the McEwans, Stephanie Chase, even fellow competitor Tom Gosselin on Saturday and anyone else I missed. It's the motivation gleaned from the likes of their encouragement that make racing fun an good finishes rewarding.
THANK YOU HATTIE FOR THE AWESOME PICS!

But the downside to my selfish ego-boosting is that just yesterday I missed my youngest score his soccer team's only goal in a 1-1 dramatic final game of the season to remain undefeated. To make matters worse, I didn't see any of his games all season and my wife was the coach!

I also missed the whole family participating in a 1 mile Halloween run that my oldest son won outright beating everyone with a time of 7.33.

The icing on the cake is the fact that the family hasn't seen one of my races all season, that's going all the way back to March. That's simply totally fucked up. What was once a family affair has turned into my own selfish pursuit. I guess that's why there aren't too many 40+ pros with a wife who hasn't divorced him yet and kids who still recognize him. I'm afraid the writing is on the wall and next season will see a much more limited but no less rewarding schedule.

OK. I had to get that off my chest. In the meantime, it's ALL IN this season and I'm looking for ward to NoHo! Bring on the power!

Verge NECCS #7 Downeast Cyclocross Report

2009-10-27T08:48:00.003-04:00

Elite
12th/43

Not a typo! I guess the stars were aligned for me today resulting in my best CX finish evah. A fan best summed it up by saying mid way through “You’re having the race of your life.” And from there, the Dirty Dancing song lyrics rang through my head spurring me on to the finish.
As much of a pleasant surprise the result was, I think it’s pretty cut and dry how it came about. Conditions were deplorable as a cold rain fell all day long relegating this new course into a muddly mess. I rode 1 lap on my pit bike and it took like 15 minutes as the going was slow. When I was done I had no recollection of what I rode and prepared myself to go into the race blind. The layout was typical for this venue: pasture, dirt path in the woods, several elevation changes. I would not call this a typical CX course, but then again what is? The week before I was riding on a sidewalk along the ocean! So my mindset was transformed to the knowledge everyone else was in the same boat (no pun intended!) and I simply needed to stay positive and just ride.

Photos by real man Paul Weiss braving the elements as well!

I was the first called up on the 3rd row and I picked a sweet outside line. After the whistle we sprinted up the short pavement and onto a long dirt section.

It sounded like there was a bit of congestion behind and to my right. I motored on sucking the mud and water flung up by the Sexual Camel in front of me. Given the conditions of the rest of the course, I opted to start in my small ring and avoid the possibility of a miss-shift once things got hairy on the trail. It seemed to work as we soon strung into a single file and I was amazed that I was holding my own and not getting dropped or passed. It’s hard to remember much from there as the remainder of the race turned into a focused individual effort of riding a smooth line and staying mentally tough. Manny Goguen and I swopped spots back and forth for a while. Unfortunately he was underdressed for the conditions and ended up dropping out. I was very glad to be rocking the old-school Kona skinsuit with thermal undershirt, leggings and storm gloves.

My finish I think is fairly easy to justify and explain. I had a great start and was in mountain bike-mode using the years of mud riding experience to my advantage. The course conditions also eliminated the power riders’ (read: roadies) ability to crush any open sections and I happily spun around in my 36/25. I was still hating the course, but the prospect of having a great finish on the day kept me motivated and on the gas. Plus, the fans’ cheering in miserable conditions were huge ego boosts and I was grateful for that.
Equipment-wise, the top mount brakes were a huge advantage. What the hell do people have against them?!

And every mountain bike racer knows s/he should have this in their toolbox:

So I got to post-race spin alongside my bovine friends and relish the moment.

As one of the Pete's from Embrocation Cycling demonstrates. This is no joke. Since it was pissing rain, many of us set up trainers in the cow barn. It freakin' stunk!

But the moment was fleeting as my thoughts soon turned to tomorrow’s race. The course was simply going to be run in reverse meaning conditions would be similar and I would have to back up today’s finish with another strong run. So much for celebrating.

Bikeman.com/Casco Bay Cyclocross Race Report

2009-10-21T07:13:00.009-04:00

Elite Masters
1st/11

Thanks to the good folks at Bath Cycle and Casco Bay promotions, a local grassroots race was held in Portland last weekend. Sure, there were other options, but I wouldn't have been travelling out of state just to get a race in. This was my only option since I was hosting the Maine High School Mountain Bike Series on Kents Hill School's campus later that day. Based on timing, the Masters' race was what worked with my schedule.
I was excited to race against some of the guys who are competing for position in the Verge NE series. But with it brings some pressure to perform since I've been running with the pros thus far. I had no results to guage where I stacked up against my fellow age-bracketers.

I zipped down early and got a couple of laps in on the course. My immediate reaction was ambivalent.

The layout was essentially on a hillside along the coast of Portland (which was gorgeous!). There was a long gentle paved climb at the start/finish area, then a couple of off-camber grassy turns followed by a long sidewalk straight exposed to the chilly coastal breeze. The back half of the course was where it got entertaining. There were some tight grassy S-turns, 2 long run-ups, a white-knuckle descent ending in a 90 degree turn and a gravel singletrack cut into the side of a hill with little room for error at speed. Lots of elevation changes to say the least. The warm-up laps left me figuring the open sections could allow for group racing and I was concerned.
We 35+ guys lined up with the 45 and 55's behind going off after a time delay. I matched the acceleration of the others and got the holeshot onto the grass. However, teammate John Meerse came around me on the sidewalk stretch and I backed into 2nd as we hit the tecky sections. I followed his wheel closely, which brought me to a unique approach of the first run-up.
I figured to take this wide and hit it with speed and carry as much momentum up on the bike. John cut right into the side of it leaving only a short run to the top. This was a great line and the one I used for the rest of the race. Unfortunately for John, he stumbled, I got by, and went solo from there for the rest of the race.

The cool photos are courtesy of Don and Dana McEwan

Team Bikeman racers Alan Starrett and Ryan Rumsey were working like a train together to chip into my lead but apparently Big Al had a bit of brake rub. Its hard enough in these races, you don't need to add resistance training!

Turns out the course was very entertaining and demanding. The run-ups and the paved stuff hurt. But the rest of the course allowed for recovery as I was focused more on bike handling than the pain in the legs, a nice mix. It's easy to say the course was unique, but what CX course isn't?! I think the guys made the most out of the space they had and I really enjoyed it. Winning probably didn't hurt!

I won a couple of cool preme prizes and Bikeman.com bucks which promptly went to the benefit of my school mountain bike team racers. So thanks to all who helped pull off the event. It was a great day and super to see so many first timers out there trying this wicked cool sport!
Next up is another couple of events close to home as the NE Series hits up Pineland.

NECCS #3 Gloucester Race Report

2009-10-06T09:27:00.005-04:00

Elite
32/72

One Race Wonder
As scheduled, I made the day trip down to MA for the 2nd of the 2 “New England Worlds” races held in Gloucester. See, I coach our school’s mountain bike team and we have races every Saturday until November. Funny thing was, the HS race was cancelled due to rain and for a moment, I realized I could make it down to hit up the CX race. Then I looked at the radar and MA was getting walloped by rain and I came to my senses and stayed home. I made the most out of the opportunity to spent QT with the family celebrating Fenix’s 6th birthday at Margarita’s and a movie (a fitting one given the day's weather, especially in Gloucester).

The Gloucester races have been a bit of an Achilles heel for me over the years. I’ve flatted twice, been hung up in other folks’ issues, been lapped and generally disliked the wide open trait of the course. so my expectations were limited but I was eager to go out and race and I was determined to at least work on my start. What better place to do it?

I arrived and kitted up for course inspection under mostly cloudy skies and mild temps. I checked the condition of racers’ bikes and bodies and saw no signs of mud. Turns out the remodeled course from the day before was virtually bone dry and actually tacky. Additionally, it was fairly technical, almost dizzingly so. I was stoked. After a good warmup on the trainer I lined up 4th row and took off with the whistle. I was surprised at the room I had as we rounded the road bend up the hill and I reminded myself to take advantage and move up as much as possible. I did a fair job of it and figure I was at worst top-40. I held my ground until the course got into the more techy stuff and then it was battling the bobbles ahead of me. At 1 point there was a hold-up in a u-turn section that was totally rideable and I got hooked on a course stake. I was off the bike now and didn’t want to lose spots so I kept moving forward while trying to untangle myself. I hear someone saying “Stop, stop, stop!” and I’m wondering why I haven’t gotten loose yet. I look back and see I’m pulling Colin and his bike around as his front wheel is hung up on my handlebars! This was an absurd game of Twister. Somehow he freed us up and we were once again underway. My issue is once again saved for eternity thanks to Colin’s seat cam here. I lost touch with the group for a bit and was alone briefly but then caught back on to Colin’s group that had a couple of Embrocation guys in it. As we hit the start/finish road section they slowed and I thought it was a recovery period but I wanted to keep moving up. Turns out the course routed us off the road and onto a nasty off-camber section that I totally missed on the pre-ride. I went into it HOT and hung on for dear life! Thanks to my TOP-MOUNT brakes I made it out alive albeit after losing the positions I just gained.

Thanks to Zach Magoon for the cool pics
I settled back in and set out to pick off as many riders as I could ahead. I had to keep reminding myself chances were I had fresher legs than the others and I needed to capitalize on their bobbles in the corners and try to outsprint them out of them. Some guys just can’t ride this stuff.

The laps were long, but overall fun. At one point I came through the start/finish checking for the lap cards to gauge how much more I needed to put out but couldn’t find one. I heard lots of cowbells and thought for a bit this might be my last lap so I dug in for about half a lap. Then I heard announcer Fries talking about the leaders had 2 to go and I was like oh dang I hope I didn’t burn out. I made some final passes over the last laps, used Burns trailing behind me as motivation, and used the KCCX/Verge rider ahead of me as the carrot. Turns out I finished where I started 32nd. I was totally satisfied.

Next up is a duty weekend here on the Hill, then it’s the local Casco Bay event, then the double in ME.

3 final thoughts on the day:
Best Gloucester course evah
Worst lap card placement evah
Best racing experience at Gloucester evah

New Blog Site

2009-10-02T06:42:00.002-04:00

A blog has been set up that lists many of the New England CX racers' blogs. Check it here:

New England Cyclocross Blogosphere

"Build it, Ride it."

2009-10-01T10:34:00.005-04:00

I took the KHS mountain bike team

out to meet Brian Alexander of CeMENEMBA to do some trail maintenance yesterday.

This was actually my first time working on what I ride.

What an ass I've been!

Verge NECCS #1 & 2 Race Reports

2009-09-30T08:31:00.003-04:00

Saturday
Elite 20th/39
Sunday
Elite 26th/43

The tale of 2 races.
I played catch-up all last season for missing the opening round of the series last year and garnering the precious points for call-ups. This year I committed to clearing my schedule and making the Green Mountain Cyclo-Cross Weekend at the Catamount Family Center. Unfortunately this meant having to miss one of the Maine high school mtb series races but I had to be selfish here. The goal was to earn at least one top-25 spot and secure a call-up based on points rather than registration for the rest of the season. I left the fam @ their Saturday soccer games and headed due west to Williston, VT.
I arrived in time to get some laps in on the course. I was fairly unimpressed with the length, lack of tech, and the climbing. Unbelievably there were 2 sections where I had to drop down to my small ring in order to get up the steeps. Perhaps this was their version of tech. The course basically wound its way in a rolling grass field. I was concerned.
I got a 2nd row callup thanks to my quick online registration ability. The race got underway and I was immersed by the pack. A couple of guys got tangled up around the 1st turn and pushed their way into me, but everyone stayed upright and we chugged on. I was my conservative-self and just tried to minimize the number of people passing me rather than going Hulk and sticking my bike where it didn’t belong and forcing the issue so early on. Racers started stringing out and I would find myself dangling with 2 or 3 riders trailing a larger group of 6 or so that was being led by Adam Myerson. I thought fans were kidding when they were shouting he was up there. John Burns was there too but I could never close the gap and eventually ended up in no-man’s land behind them. This hurt in the numerous open sections where the wind was a real factor. I ended up rolling in satisfactorily in 20th, exceeding my goal and happy for the outcome.

After a great post-race meal in S. Burlington Burnsy and I settled into our uber-plush Green Mounatin Suite. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good night’s sleep for whatever reason. We woke Sunday to showers and a decidedly wet ground. I was ambivalent about the conditions. This could either help or hurt me. The fact that we were mostly riding on grass really minimized the impact of the weather. I pre-rode the course with my pit bike but didn’t push the limits to test traction. Essentially there was a long open climb then a winding descent. Bike handling was a factor, but not the difference-maker as it wasn't too mudly. It was still mostly about power and being careful to not get caught in the myriad of slippery grooves in the grass.
I lined up 3rd row today which was OK. Problem was, I did my whole lame slow start thing and was passed A LOT as we rode up the climb. I need to man-up from here on in if I want to have decent finishes. As we summited, there was a swooping left hand turn that had a puddle and rocks in the middle which was important to avoid. On the pre-ride I opted for the outside line to stay out of danger and I was on-line in the race. Unfortunately I caught a groove I never saw and was doing a power slide when suddenly the tires hooked up and shot me straight across the middle of the course and into the line of those left behind me. Some poor dude t-boned me and went down. (This entire sequence is well documented on Colin's blog HERE) He must have made contact with my rear brake somehow as there was a dragging sound coming from the rear end. I tried to determine the issue but was losing more and more ground in the race. I had braking power so I wasn’t crippled but the noise couldn’t be good. I was planning to pit but the sound eventually dissipated and I deduced it was only a cable rubbing on the tire. Well, the damage was done and I am pretty sure I was in like 40th at this point. The rest of the race was all about catch-up as I soloed the whole time.

My longest chase was behind Rubijono but he eventually was kind enough to let me go. On the last lap I finally made eye contact with a couple of riders ahead including fellow Mainer Tom Gosselin. My motivation just spiked and I dug deep to bridge up to them on the climb. I caught them at the top just as Tom was attacked by the other rider so I followed. He rode the descent pretty well so I wondered where I would get around him. Coming through the start/finish area I passed and outbraked him heading into the barrier corner, a textbook NASCAR move. I created a gap and buried myself through the next open field and held on through the finish. I was hoping against hope I cracked the top-25, relying partly on others DNFing. Turns out I was 26th, meaning I had nothing to show for the effort: no $, no points. I was disappointed to say the least but had only myself to blame for a lame-ass start.

Next weekend I’m cruising down for the Sunday race only in Gloucester. A top-25 there will be difficult to attain given the top level competition. A great place to work on my start though!

Sucker Brook CX Race Report

2009-09-21T09:45:00.004-04:00

Pro/Elite

8th/24

Ah, what could have been! I zipped down to a well run event in Auburn, NH with the killer armada of Konas psyched to lay down some laps on the new Team Issue Major Jake.

Arrived in time to spend 25 minutes on the open course to shake the cobwebs off my CX skills and shakedown the bike. The bike was noticeably light and FAST! I adjusted to the cockpit position and use of the Dura-Ace shifters and got help with front chainring adjustment.

After dropping off my pit bike I arrived at the start a bit late and found myself 3rd row back. Oh well, no better time than to practice starts! I chose the outside line and was able to carry plenty of momentum through the first turn and onto the gravel. Not wanting to push it too much battling in the corners, I played it conservatively and settled into the top-12 or so as things went single-file through the grass turns. There was some cat and mousing here and there, but there were no real dramatic changes in the running order.

After the 2nd lap, things started to spread out a bit and I could see a lead group was forming and I was dangling now in the top-10 or so and it seemed like the guys in front of me might lose contact with the leaders so I advanced and landed in the top 5. At 1 point I was 3rd when suddenly the eventual winner sticks his front wheel on my inside in a turn. I give him the room and take the turn wide, but his momentum carries him back into my line and forces me into the tape. As luck would have it, the tape wraps around my handlebar and I screeched to a halt. Thanks for nothing!

I was relegated back to 7th or so but was able to catch back on to the top-5. We crossed the start/finish line and the leader attacks. The guys in front of me are unsure what to do so I make the effort to cross the gap in the gravel section when I feel the rear tire take a hard hit on a rock. It didn't immediately go flat but it felt soft. The pit was right in front of me so I made a last minute decision to enter and switch bikes. I almost loose it as the tire rolls so it was definitely flat. I hop back onto my old bike and I'm like, "man, what a tank!" The bike felt so heavy and sluggish and I had to readjust my handling. I was now in no-man's land relegated to 9th. Try as I might, I could not make forward progress and the lead group was accelerating away. 1 rider had a meltdown with 2 to go and moved me up to 8th where I finished.

I was very satisfied with the experience. It was good to get cut off/a flat/bike change/etc. out of the way in a non-counting race. Should make me better prepared for next weekends' NE Championship Series.

Cyclocross Season is On!

2009-09-20T08:55:00.002-04:00

Special thanks goes to Tom of The Bike Boutique for building up the bike in short order for today's race @ Sucker Brook!

The Next Generation

2009-09-15T10:56:00.006-04:00

With the arrival of September comes the start of the Maine High School Mountain Bike Series. I coach the team here at Kents Hill School and took the kids out for their first dirt rides of the season last Friday @ Bradbury State Park. Conditions were actually dusty!

We were fortunate to be joined by fellow racers John Burns and alum Andrew Freye on Friday. They each led a group of riders and their coaching was well received.

These guys were pretty punched on the 2nd loop but still having fun!

On Saturday we hit up the Camden Snowbowl and proceeded to break 4 chains, no bones though!

Climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing, climbing!

This elite group made it to the top for the ocean view.

This endo hurt!

The high school series begins this Saturday @ ME Sport Outfitters in Rockport. Should be a good time!

GMSR Crit and GC Results

2009-09-09T09:48:00.003-04:00

Finished with the field but managed to win a GC time bonus sprint and knock 10 seconds off my overall time. Fred and John also finished in the field maintaining their GC positions:

Meerse 2nd overall
Thomas 7th overall
I ended up 14th overall, 1 spot out of the $!

This was a great OA/CycleMania team effort, landing 3 of us in the top-14. Only Westwood Velo matched us with 3 in the top-9.

This is me, team manager Neil Fitch with bunny ears and Meerse yucking it up after the crit

GMSR Road Race

2009-09-06T21:07:00.002-04:00

75 miles and 3.5 hours later I finish 20th, 1:46 back.
Meerse comes in 3rd and Thomas 8th.

Meerse vaults into 2nd GC!
Thomas in 7th.
I'm in 19th

GMSR Circuit Race

2009-09-05T20:59:00.002-04:00

38th, finished with main field.
Teammates Meerse & Thomas were savvy enough to put themselves in a late break with an exclusive group of 6 and gained 27 seconds on their competitors, most notably all of the Corner Cycle guys.
They moved up in GC to 4th & 3rd respectively!
I sit in 21st.

Green Mountain Stage Race TT

2009-09-05T10:39:00.002-04:00

20th, 1:21 back.
Team OA/Cyclemania has Fred Thomas and John Meerse in the top 10.

NECS #7/MMBA #5 Maine Sport Run-off Race Report

2009-08-31T16:35:00.007-04:00

3rd Overall

There is much to say about this race. But unstead of winding important things into long-winded paragraphs, I'm going to list them out.

-Mike Patrick made the trek up. He is battling brain cancer and is simply the most tenacious racer I know. We rode together for part of the 1st lap but he said he was having a moment and faded back. Apparently he made it through part of the 2nd lap but ended up having a seizure. Good people like Skip Brown came across him and helped out. He went to the hospital and I can only hope he has recovered. Nothing else really matters. Send him some positive vibes.

-Kilburn did not show up. Too bad.

-The midcoast received 4" of rain on Saturday. The course rode great 1st lap, but was super greasy for the next 3. I did a lot of running. I hate running and carrying a bike. Even in 'cross.

-I completed all my running training for 'cross season in 1 day.

-Although my placing looks great finishing behind only proper racers in the form of my Porky Gulch nemesis Pete Ostroski and former student/racer Andrew Freye, my time told the real story: just under 15 minutes off the lead, and under 10 to 2nd. I was semi-slow to say the least.

-I finished 3rd because Chris LaFlamme flatted out with less than 2 miles to go.

-I was semi-slow thanks to my left forearm and tricep seizing up solid on the last lap. I was like a walking mummy with my arm all out stiff. I had to hoof it down some of the tech descents because I couldn't steer my bike.

-Said cramping was no doubt due to the fact that I pumped up, deflated, installed Stan's, re-pumped up my mud tires the day before. Let's just say 1 tire didn't want to seat.

-How do you give your arms an ice bath?!
-Took a dip in the pond at the base of the hill. I'm thinking this trend that was started with Burns and Joos may be drawing to an end. There will be serious shrinkage come November!

-This was my last XC race of the season and the end of my 2 year Master of Mud reign. All good things must come to an end. The future remains uncertain.

OA/CycleMania Team Brief TV Spot

2009-08-19T13:07:00.003-04:00

This VIDEO Aired on Channel 8 a while back.

I currently fit into the 4th group of rider types: hangs out at the rear of the field!

Tuesday Night Smackdown!

2009-08-19T09:26:00.002-04:00

Holy chowder did I get punched last night! Babs had some friends to meet in Portland and I wanted to hit up the PVC Tuesday Night Ride, so we combined forces and drove down.

I dropped her off at the marina, then popped into CycleMania to pick up some tubes and Stan's (first time I've ever had to buy the goop). I kitted up and joined the relatively small (20+) but strong group of riders, several of whom were my OA/CycleMania teammates.

The pace was torrid once we left the metro area and started climbing. I was redlined and just hanging on. At one point an elite group went off the front, but I maintained their pace off the front of the 2nd group. It was a constant hard effort, right up to the long stretch back into town where we maintained a 30 mph paceline to the final sprint.

This was a phenomenal workout and a reminder I still have some training to do!

Bradbury, finally!

2009-08-17T12:12:00.004-04:00

The elements finally cooperated and allowed the trails to dry. I brought mtb rookie Ty Conklin

down for 2.5 hours of fun, cuts, and bruises. Conditions were primo. The new bridges are fantastic. We finished without a spec of mud on the bikes. The day was capped with lunch @ Gritty's and an afternoon on the lake.

Now that's a perfect summer day!

MMBA Saddleback Challenge Race Report Part Deux

2009-08-13T10:51:00.002-04:00

2nd Overall

Well, I'm enjoying my piece of humble pie. Apparently I got nipped when I wasn't looking on the last lap. Hard to believe, but I somehow managed to coast through the last lap and lost 2 minutes. Guess I faded more than a rug in the sun.
Congrats to Kilburn.

Performance

2009-08-12T08:57:00.001-04:00

Funny and making its way around. Has someone been following me around with a camera?!

MMBA Saddleback Challenge 1 Race Report

2009-08-11T16:00:00.000-04:00

1st Overall

The decision to bag Mt. Snow was logical. Babs and the boys returned from 10 days in MN on Monday.

1. I was not going to be that guy who selfishly dragged them off for 4 days of big-race tension.

2. I saved a lot of $, without using Geico.

3. My experience @ Mt. Snow 2 weeks earlier was less than memorable and I was not optimistic about the course improving.

4. The thoughts of lining up with Trebon and Wicks then hope to finish top-40 lost its allure.

Once the decision was made, a revised activity plan was hatched. I got to spend time with the fam @ the lake, do some unstructured road riding with Ty Conklin, and oh, what's this, a Maine series race? Schwing!

The upcoming event was making use of Saddleback Mountain's nordic ski trails. I have always been a fan of these types of courses, with the benchmark being Sugarloaf's Outdoor Center in my opinion. I enjoy the punchy climbs, open straightaways to recover, and wide variety of singletrack offerings. I did this race last year and had a pretty good time of it so I was very excited to have a chance to hit it up again. Once again, however, I went solo since Drake had an LLBean casting and I let Babs handle that!

It was a gorgeous, if not brisk day. I hoped to arrive early enough for a pre-ride. But per usual of late, issues arose. This time my bike wasn't shifting for shit. Perhaps I'll remind myself to be sure to pre-ride the bike the day before to shake out the cobwebs and make adjustments. After maxing out the barrel adjuster, I went ahead and added tension to the cable at the derailleur and was good to go. With the little time I had, I just rode the first 1/2 mile of singletrack plus a new section they added and had to call it good. The legs had no shock to them and I hoped I would have the chance to open them up gradually starting with the pack.

Joining me on the line was singlespeedster Rick Nelson as well as series leader Steve Kilburn. The course layout is a lollipop in that we cruise a mile down a dirt road to the 5 mile race loop. We were slated to do 4 laps plus an additional 2 seperate singletrack sections as part of our finish lap heading back to the start area. Note to race promoters: STOP CREATING NEW TRAIL SECTIONS THE DAY BEFORE A RACE!

Although the new parts have potential, they were just not race-ready. They were loamy, muddy, moose tracky, and bitchy after riding 20 miles of fairly sweet stuff. Hopefully it'll be well broken in for the next race there.
So off the start, Racin' Rick had his big ring single gear going on and led the field through a short NASCAR loop and onto the long dirt road.

Unfortunately, this is where my big ring was bigger than his and I passed dragging Kilburn at least with me. I wanted to do some heavy damage here and drop some of the competition and at least be first into the singletrack. But alas, my legs and cardiovascular system were only set at 10. I wanted them to go to 11. So not really knowing who or how many were behind me, I put my head down and set off into the singletrack to ride at my pace. At the first clearing I looked back and it was only Kilburn in my mirror. But, he was dead on my heels either trying to pressure me to bobble, or strategizing to just sit in while I took the risks out front. Either way, we had a race on our hands and I was feeling the pressure to keep up the momentum. When we emerged for a long road climb, I noticed he was off my wheel. Not by much, but perhaps it was a chink in the armor. I pressed on and had the sense he was not as close in the next section. Then we hit the muddy area and I had deja vu of last year. 2008 was a carbon copy, but I was the guy tailing Andrew Freye. When we hit the mud last year, he rode it while I ran it and he created a gap that I could never relinquish. Today, the tables were turned and I rode it and it sounded like Steve had some trouble. I pushed it hard through the next singletrack and then came out alone at the feed zone. The race was over.

I settled into a more tolerable pace the next couple of laps, trying to be as smooth and efficient as possible. I had aspirations of playing the "big ring game" made infamous by Adam Craig and as Freye did to me last year here. But the course took its toll on me. I big ringed it where I could, but not everywhere. The legs were threatening to cramp and I had to save up for the final lap extensions so I was a bit more conservative to the end.

The finish line was after a short downhill, perfect for a "Superman" finish, a fitting cap to my first win of the season. I took a cool down spin and sent my legs into shock by hopping into a genuine cool mountain stream, a perfect post-race swim, natch. Wasn't sorry I was missing the goose poop retention pond @ Mt. Snow!

The best part of the day was the familiar faces and hearing people cheer your name. It was a Cheers moment for sure. Got a couple of weeks off after 7 races in 5 weeks. What will I do with my weekends?!

Skipped Mt. Snow

2009-08-11T15:48:00.001-04:00

Kinda had a feeling.

Root 66 Hodges Dam Race Report

2009-08-10T06:28:00.007-04:00

Pro
10th/20

Careful planning and scheming enabled me to hit the Concord Criterium the day before on my way to my mom's on the Cape. Then day trip over here to Oxford, MA, back to the Cape, then pick up the fam @ Logan on Monday and head home. 1 more neo-pro bike racer weekend for me.
My hope was to arrive early enough to the race venue and get a recon. lap in. But, 1 thing lead to another and by the time I was kitted up and on the bike I had less than 1/2 hour. Rumor was there was some standing water around and talk of a "floating bridge" so it sounded like a pre-ride might do more damage than good. So I hopped on the bike after changing to a rear mud tire and set out to spin the legs around. I rode for like 10 minutes then started to feel the rear getting a bit too squishy. Sure enough, I was losing air in the tire. I run tubeless, but no Stan's, I'm a little crazy like that. So it was a bouncy pedal back to the truck to swop tires. Problem was, it's often a bitch seating the tire. As I was madly pumping, the announcer made the pro call-up. I wasn't panicking, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it. Fortunately it caught and I rolled up in the 2nd row and was ready to go. If my legs weren't warmed up, my arms sure were! A Hutchinson Python was my only other option and I was hoping it wouldn't be a liability out there for me.
The gun went off and we packed it down a fire road for like 1/2 mile. I was in the top 1/3 before the first 1 lane section. We hit some puddles along the way and I got thoroughly drenched by some nasty smelling water. Fortunately, I would get a total spray down several more times on each lap! Having scoped out a pro line on my pre-ride, I avoided a slight traffic jam, and made my way into the top-10 right away. But, the faster riders like Kevin Hines quickly put me back where I belonged hovering outside the top-10 and we all settled in to singletracking. The course was a lot of fun and reminded me of Otis. Rolling hardpack trail with some roots and baby-head rocks to swerve around. However, it was not all Oz.
The land must have been around like a reservoir and the dam controlled how much overflow water remained above it. Given the amount of rain we've had, the low lying areas had a lot of water. 1 section in the trail was so deep the wooden bridge that normally spans it was actually floating. If you came up to it, it was all good because it was on the top of the water. But if you were behind someone, they would submerge it and it was tougher to negotiate. This was clearly a run! There were massive puddles in an open road section that were hub deep as well as 1 long super muddy section. But this took the cake:

I ran it each time, but guys were saying they rode it. I don't know how @ race pace.
Anyway, in terms of the race, I made a couple passes myself on lap 1, then settled into a groove and ended up playing cat and mouse with a singlespeeder for 2 laps. He was quick and smooth in the singletrack, but my gears helped me bridge any gaps in the open sections. Eventually I got by him in the last 1/4 of the penultimate lap then I dug in and hammered the first 1/4 of the final lap and made the gap stick. I rode solo in from there for a top-10.
I was really glad to be riding the mountain bike and enjoyed the course as a whole. The water issues were nothing compared to the crap we've been riding through @ Mt. Snow, Pat's Peak, etc.
Joos and I took our traditional post-ride dip. This time the water looked dirty and there was a dead fish, but it really doesn't matter when you're covered in mud.

Good times.

Quick Race Weekend Wrapup

2009-08-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

Concord Criterium
Masters 35+
Pack finish
Why did I bother to go?!

Root 66 Hodges Dam XC
Pro 10th
This was something of a triathlon with open roads, running, and virtual swimming. But the ripping singletrack was well worth the other course elements. I had a blast!

Root 66 Mt. Snow XC Race Report

2009-07-28T09:41:00.008-04:00

Pro

11th/30

After a restful 9 hour sleep (a record for me!) at the plush Lodge at Mt. Snow, JB and I woke to dark skies and some additional moisture that fell overnight. Sweet, more fuel to the fire that is mud at Mt. Snow. We had a country breakfast and set out to join the other suckers intent on flattening the epic climbs and finding traction in the woods.

The course was redesigned since last year's Nats. But, most everyone was flying blind today given the conditions did not allow for a pre-ride. I got in a good warm-up and a light spin with Matty-O as we swopped stories about how old we're getting and how hard damn hard this racing thing is on family life. We got to the line late and I lined up on the last row alongside Colin who was aiming for the reverse hole shot today.

The start was clean and we were a large pack heading up the fire road climb. I made some passes and was probably top-20 prior to the first singletrack section. It was here that I realized I was only going to pose as a mountain biker today. I was totally unprepared mentally and skillfully for the slippery conditions and had to dab a couple of times looking like a real ass-clown. I was quickly relegated towards the back of the pack. But in true Mt. Snow fashion, the singletrack descending was short-lived and it was back to ascending action and I regained some of the spots I lost.

The actual course map can be found here. I am having a hard time recalling the flow of the course, perhaps because it was so unmemorable except for a ton of climbing necessitating a humbling amount of granny gear use, some uphill singletrack that was unrideable (for me), some wet grassy traverses, and a white knuckle front wheel mud surfing descent.

What was memorable was the rubber-banding I was doing. I would begin the laps pulling away from the likes of Colin and TP on the climbs, only to have them rocket past me on the descents. These guys were actually biking while I was posing. It was cat and mouse for a few laps, and it eventually included Jon Rowe. But on the final lap, I put in enough distance on them and used the motivation of passing JB to get me up the climb quickly enough to not get passed back again. It was a sad sight to see Joos fixing a flat in the final 1/4 of the course on the last lap, but that was another position up for me.

In the end, I rolled in as pack fodder, but fully punched as the legs began to cramp on the final climb to the finish. The field was cut in 1/3 due to the conditions as only 21 of the 30 finished. So, a top 1/2 of the field finish for me is satisfying.

Notable finish was Kevin Hines bringing it home in 2nd. Kevin is to XC racing what Mark Martin is to NASCAR racing. You think you can beat him because he's old, but he defies that logic. I'm more like Bill Elliott. I am old, and you can beat me!

I hope for Mt. Snow's sake the trails dry out for the Pro XCT event in 2 weeks. Otherwise there will be some pretty unhappy racers around.

Next up is pulling double duty with OA/CycleMania team at the Concord Crit then some XC fun at the Root 66 Hodges Village Dam.

Root 66 Mt. Snow Cyclocross Race Report

2009-07-25T17:22:00.005-04:00

Pro
4th

A bonus biking weekend arose after I dropped Babs and the boys off at Logan Friday afternoon for their trip to see her side of the fam. I noticed there was some added Saturday activity here at Mt. Snow so I catered my plans to attend. I spent the night in Boston Friday and leisurely drove over this morning to meet Burnsy to race and lodge for the night.
Apparently there was some additional heavy rain here last night, but today was a beauty. Our plan was to get a lap on the XC course in as a warmup to the CX race. Fortunately JB heard over the loudspeaker they were combining classes and bumping our start time up a 1/2 hour so we bagged the pre-ride and warmed up on the road. Of course, the field was tiny, but all you need is Kevin Hines in the pack and you know its going to be a race no matter what to try to keep up with him. Colin Rueter was fresh off a 2-lap warmup and got the hole shot, leading for a couple of laps. I was content to sit behind Kevin and let him dictate the pace. The course was not your standard Mt. Snow short track. Yes it had the same start/finish and it climbed up the access road and dropped you down by the pump house and a 200 degree turn to the finish straight. But added was a loop around a building onto the sidewalk and up a short steep step-up they thought would be a run-up. But we of nasty biking skills negated the need to dismount. It also climbed higher than the ST, a bit of a slap in the face and then used a giant S-turn on a ski slope to descend. So, the question was, what would win: MTB or CX bike? A 'cross bike had the advantage on the flats and the climb, but the mtb could descend better, especially since there was a bit of mud and wet grass to contend with. Colin, Kevin, a Noreast guy, and I rode CX. Burns, and a Cannondale guy rode mtb's. We were to ride 20 minutes plus 3 laps. After Colin was reeled in, the Noreast guy came around me and we continued to trail Hines. Hines' strength was on the climb. He would routinely get a 5 second gap at the very top, but then we would come together by the time we reached the base of the climb again after he fully recovered and was ready to unleash another acceleration. On consecutive laps Kevin bobbled on the step-up causing a momentum stopper, the nthe Noreast guy caught a pedal the next lap and he was gone. Kevin was now inching away as I could not match his climb pace. My slowing brought Burns and the Cannondaler into the mix and I was content to ride behind Burns. The Cannondaler attacked about 2/3 of the way in and neither John nor I responded. I rode his wheel around the base and stayed in contact on the climb, lost some on the descent, repeat, all the way to the finish coming home 4th. I was pretty sure JB had an extra gear to kick in if I came around him, so I didn't bother. I chalked it up to a solid day to prep for tomorrow's XC.
JB and I bagged the pre-ride altogether after hearing there was significant mud out there to save the bikes and the bodies.

Yarmouth Clam Fest Race Report

2009-07-22T09:08:00.008-04:00

I took a break from the dirt (mud) and hit up the bike race associated with the Yarmouth Clam Festival put on by my road club Portland Velo. The decision was a bit impromptu as I originally planned to attend the EFTA Horror at Harding XC event. However, about ½ my road team was signed up and it was basically local, so I made the quick ride down.
Since I wasn’t putting a lot of emphasis on the event, I didn’t conserve energy and worked, rode, and played pretty hard all week. Thursday I hit up a small, but steady group ride put on by the CMCC out of Mathieu's Bike Shop. It was nice knowing there’s another option to ride with others closer to home. I also expelled some serious energy working at the lake house.
Nonetheless, I was good to go and so was the weather for once! The course was a 3+ mile circuit that was fairly flat save for one punchy climb after a 90 degree turn that lead to a LONG finishing straight. It reminded me a lot of the circuit race used in the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. We had a neutral first lap lead by the PVC women racers to celebrate the life of a former club member who was struck and killed while riding out west recently.
Start photo courtesy of Don McEwan

From there, it was on for 9 laps! Although there was no team communication prior to the race, I figured the strategy was simple and we would dominate the race given our numbers. I assumed we would have a strong presence out front, have at least 1 rider in every break, and/or launch attacks, and block. I was wrong. The rest of the 100+ field was pretty stout and included some well known pros. Our guys were spread out everywhere, myself included and there was no organization. We did have a guy or 2 get in a couple of breaks that didn’t stick. But there was an elite group that got away late in the race which didn’t include any of us and there was no organization to bring it back.

I’d like to think I did my share of effort joining a couple of break attempts and riding at the front while a teammate was up the road. But the climb was starting to take its toll and I wasn’t maintaining my position as we crested on the latter laps.
Annoying climb photo thanks to Don

To make matters worse, I mis-read the lap cards and I emptied the tank on the actual next-to-last lap! I was wondering why it was so easy to get to the front! What an ass! Ultimately, it came down to the last lap. The pace was fast and the entire field sped into the turn at the base of the climb. After an early incident where a Keltic rider went down and 1 lap where I tried the outside line, I suspected there may be a pileup as the field swept left off the turn. Sure enough, I heard the heinous sound of metal, carbon, and road colliding. The issue was the sidewalk curb was extremely difficult to pick out of the shade and it comes up on you quickly. It killed my momentum as well as half the field so I ended up semi-coasting home to an unceremonious 62nd. I have come to the realization I really don’t like circuit races. They are mini-versions of a road course run at criterium speed. They’re dangerous and HARD!
I had a chance to chat with French Freye and Hattie after the race who volunteered for the event which was nice. I then cruised to the lake house to meet the fam and indulge in the fruits of my labor on the dock I floated this week!

Next it’s back to the dirt for some fun cyclocross and a cross country event at Mt. Snow.

Root 66 Pats Peak Race Report

2009-07-13T09:27:00.003-04:00

Pro
12/23

After attending this race last season with Andrew Freye, we agreed it was a worthy event and worth clearing a spot on the calendar again. Unfortunately it conflicted with a pretty fun MMBA race. But I opted to go where the competition and the climbing was instead. This year, Freye opted for the double and competed in (and won!) the 6 hour solo event on Saturday, then the XC on Sunday. So I leisurely loaded up in the morning and made the trek to Henniker, NH solo.
Weather dawned perfectly for the drive. The big question was, what were the course conditions like as a big batch of rain swept through the region overnight. Having learned my poor tire choice lesson earlier in the year, I brought all options with me.
I arrived in plenty of time to register and get a lap in prior to our 2pm start. This was crucial for me to make the tire decision. Since the sports were racing, I didn't do a full lap, just the important climb to the top of the mountain for the long, winding descent where time was either going to be made or lost. There was no mud to speak of thanks to the 24 hour racers going all night plus the sports pushing things aside. Nonetheless, the roots were a bit slippery and you had to be on your toes. I talked things over with Freye and collegiate stud Brad Perley and confirmed a taller knobbie up front would help and not necessarily go with a mud tire.
I toed the line in the 2nd row where the officials took a quick poll to see whether we wanted to drop a lap and race only 4-5 mile loops with 800+ feet of climbing instead of the published 5. I was pretty opinionated and made my vote known for keeping the 5 laps. This is the pro rank, deal! We set off up the bunny hill where I had scouted out a pro line rather than get bottlenecked and set off in the top-10. I held the spot for a bit until the legit riders got their act together and set off for the front. I was riding well and felt pretty good until we got to the sections I hadn't pre-ridden. There were 2 unrideable hike-a-bike mud sections, plus a few energy and motivation-sapping mid-slope grassy/mud sections that sucked the life out of riding. I guess that was part of the reason to cut a lap as the times were going to hover around 30 minutes/lap rather than 20-25. Oh well. I was going to persevere through it no matter what.
I made it through the first lap probably top-17 or so and rode though with strongman Mike Rowell. We were together at the base of the descent on the 2nd lap when he flatted big time and I was left to my own devices which was too bad because I wanted to try to keep pace with him.
Fortunately there were some carrots that dangled ahead in the form of IF, Wheelworks, and 29er Crew riders whom I slowly reeled in over the next 3 laps. I started finding some stealth lines that I'm sure Mike Joos was roosting on his way to a solid finish! My only regret was getting passed by Kevin Hines who was racing expert that day. Granted, he's a national champ in my age group and also beat the pro field at Putney this year. But his ability is admirable and one I try to emulate. He was just killing it. Thankfully, I kept Jonny Bold at bay though!
It was a tough outing overall. But I was pleased with my effort and the body never showed specific signs of weakness. There was just a general total-body sense of fatigue. I was pretty fairly "punched" (new favorite word thanks to my buddy Sam!).
Next up is taking a break from the mtb and hitting up the Yarmouth Clam Festival circuit race that currently lists 13 of my OA/CycleMania teammates as signed up, should be a lay-up!

These Things Just Don't Go Together

2009-07-08T10:16:00.001-04:00

The date and what I'm wearing. Nice summer, not!

Root 66 Domnarski Farm Race Report

2009-07-06T11:18:00.005-04:00

Pro

9th/15

Creative planning allowed me to hit up this XC race on my way home from the Cape.

After a high volume and active week, I wasn't quite sure where my fitness would stack up. But I hadn't raced on my MTB since May 24th so I HAD to get one in.

The race was held on a farm in Ware, MA and we did 2-10 mile loops. Clearly there was no opportunity to pre-ride so I relied on my spider-sense and rode within my line of vision, never knowing what lay ahead.

The field was smallish, but had your typical strong young-guns. The start finish was on a unique elevated 100 yard section that quickly whittled into singletrack. I assumed my standard role of back-of-the-pack and just wanted to stay out of the major players' way. Of course, I wanted to quit after the first 15 minutes because I was redlining it and still lost the front group. But I managed to pass 2 guys plus Foley who flatted so I figured DFL was out of the question.

My real goal was to not get passed by Experts from behind. So, despite the fact that I was in no-man's land 1/3 of the way into the race, I had motivation.

The course was best described as a route I would see myself riding randomly on a weekday ride. A mix of fun singetrack, some doubletrack, some logging roads, and a powerline section. There was some solid climbing interspersed as well. I could have certainly done without the powerline section since it was in the wide open, was a climb, and finished with a run up. The logging roads were annoying as well with huge puddles that forced you to scrub speed and pick a line. There were also some serious mud pits that you had to test the depths of on the 1st lap. I confirmed that one was a wheel deep as I gracefully endoed and muddied myself for the rest of the race. 2nd lap I worked on CX moves and quickly dis-mounted and ran through them.

After riding solo for 2/3 of the way, I came across a slow and unmotivated Greg Carpenter. Although it was nice to ride with someone, I also wanted to beat him so I put in a solid effort to the finish.

It was nice to know I could still race, despite some fairly unfavorable circumstances. The day served as a confidence booster and I'm looking forward to building some momentum this month with an ambitious 4 XC races in a row.

Vacation Week

2009-07-06T10:12:00.006-04:00

Just back from a week on Cape Cod hanging at my mom's with the fam.

We caravaned down in 2 vehicles so I could bring back some stuff my mom is getting rid of.

Here are the before/after van pics. There's even a mower and weedwacker in there!

The weather really cooperated for the most part and we got in some boat/beach days.

I skipped a rainy road ride at home before we left and was treated to sun and warmth on the Cape so I made the 25 minute road ride to my favorite trail network at Otis for a couple hours of singletrack.

Of course, I did have my run-ins with the rain and got hit with hail on my return from a MTB ride:

And got wiped out by an epic thunderstorm on a road ride that wiped me out as the expression on my face relays. You know you're riding in a majot event when your feet get submerged in puddles on the downstroke!

The week was capped off by a fantastic fireworks display viewd from the boat. Now it's back to work and a busy month of racing!

Wicked Good Weekend!

2009-06-22T11:49:00.004-04:00

Friday:

Hosted KHS Class of 1999 at our house for Reunion Weekend.

You get the picture.

Saturday:

Attended the wedding of a co-worker's daughter outside of Camden with Babs.

You get the picture.

Spent the night in a cabin at the Point Lookout and celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary.

Sunday:

Slept late, fueled up with crusty bread and cheese and rode home from Camden.

Got home and had a great Father's Day dinner with the boys.

Perfect!

Motivation to Ride Arrives by Mail

2009-06-19T12:44:00.006-04:00

A week ago I was prepping to compete in the EFTA Pinnacle XC race. All systems were a go until Saturday right before dinner. I had started to prep the bike for a muddy event and was attempting to mount tubeless mud tires. For the usual reasons, it was impossible to seat the bead on the rim and it would not hold air. It was at this point that I entered a tailspin of demotivating myself. I started coming up with better things to do with my time on Sunday rather than get up @ 4am, drive 4 hours, race 2 hours, drive 4 hours (actually wasn't tough to do!).

So I left the bike in its incomplete state and plotted out a nice 4 hour road ride around home instead. I ate my pre-race carbo meal and rationalize this was a good plan. Problem was, I didn't really want to ride the road for 4 hours so when Sunday came and it poured rain, I was relieved I had another excuse not to ride and bagged it.

Worse part is, I haven't ridden since! This was a tough work week putting in the ice and the riding opportunities have been nill and I sure haven't had the motivation.

Then, yesterday my new jersey arrived and I miraculously snapped out of my funk.

Training commenced immediately after, albeit for only 1 hour on the rollers! Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to getting rolling again. Thanks Kona for kicking me in the ass!

To Ride or Not To Ride

2009-06-18T08:27:00.003-04:00

Just venting that I'm in that funk.

Work is a killer re-opening the ice rink, all I want to do is hit the couch.

Maybe I can combine the 2:

Next race is July 5th. Hope they have a couch division!

Great Falls Criterium Race Report

2009-06-16T10:55:00.004-04:00

Masters 35+
20/36

Pro 1/2/3
19/35

This will be brief. Ended up working for the man "Fast" Fred "TT" Thomas in the Masters race. He went off with 2 others early and I served as sentry at the front of the field. They stayed away and Fred finished 3rd. I finished with the pack in preparation for the next race.

Thanks to teammate Paul Weiss for the pics

In the pro race I hoped to remain in the pack and finish. A couple of guys got off the front and McCormack's teammate Mark Gunsalus worked the front of the pack keeping the pace reasonable. There were several very hard accelerations, especially after the punchy climb. But I held on and rolled in with the group happy with the effort.

Not Your Average Roadkill

2009-06-06T20:23:00.003-04:00

Not to be outdone by Commuter Rick's recent bout with the wild, I must share this. Of course I'm kicking myself in the junk for not thinking and taking a picture with my phone.

I was on an out and back ride this morning and passed what I thought was the backside of a fox dead in the road. It looked in pretty good shape, just some blood spilling under the head. I slowed on my return trip and did a double take because it didn't have a long nose and stuff and swore it looked like a cat. So I turned around and was quite suprised to see a pretty cool looking bobcat.

I was eager to tell the maintenance guys back at school and when I did got a backhand for not dragging it off the road and calling. Apparently these things go for over $1000 stuffed. I am such an ass! I had gloves on and everything!

Well, I may live in Maine, but I ain't no Mainer! I was scared enough it would jump up and chase me! Oh well. I'll get the next one!

Buy it and They Will Come

2009-06-03T07:07:00.001-04:00

Lots of people suddenly wanting to visit us! House needs some work though. Shooting for late-July to make it habitable. New daily grind goes like this: Work, ride, family, work on house. It's all good!

No Racing. Just House Buying.

2009-06-01T07:31:00.001-04:00

Summer in Maine on the lake. Doesn't get any better than that!

Wii Love Boxing!

2009-05-31T15:20:00.001-04:00

Over 4 minutes of Tazmanian Devil action! I may unleash this beast on whomever passes me next race.

Real Coyote Hill Race Report

2009-05-26T08:49:00.003-04:00

21/39 Pro

First mtb race of the season and it showed. I loaded up and headed due west Sunday morning to attend the 4th race in the Root 66 Northeast race series. I was feeling a bit unprepared fitness-wise having failed to get intense rides in the past 2 weekends in a row. But, I was marginally optimistic about my handling having gotten a couple of solid Bradbury mtb rides in and was very comfortable on the bike. Then it rained. I put way too much faith in the forecast the day before which had called for a 40% chance of showers in the morning, then a nice afternoon. So I set the bike up for a dry race. Well, that 40% turned into 100% of 1/4" of rain from like 10am-noon rendering the course muddy and slick and my front tire useless except for collecting mud to skim on top of mud.

Hutchinson Python = Stupid Tire

Well, you gotta run what you brung so I lined up with over 30 other pros and set off for a 4 lapper. The start was great as I was comfortably in the top 10 heading into the singletrack. Then it was a skid-fest. My front lost grip on the first slick off-camber section and I had to put a foot down to keep from going into the woods. The field freight trained by me and I lost at least 7 spots. I rudely jumped back in and hopped on to Mike Joos' wheel making this a repeat of last year when I rode with him for the 1st lap. The pace was high, but not killer. I had to stay super-focused to maintain traction and keep up with Joos and the small group we were in. There were a few sections that I opted to run that cost me a bit of time but not enough to get dropped. Eventually though, the running certainly adversly affected my finish. I looped through the start/finish in decent shape but I soon settled into a pace that got slower and slower each lap. I was no longer riding with anyone and the mind just started to wander. On the 3rd lap I swopped places back and forth with a single-speeder, then Mike Rowell motored through as I was doing my feeble try to ride a muddy, rooty section, then get off and run routine. I kept him in contact as we climbed the open road for the last time, but he was powering up and I was just riding up. The singlespeeder stood and delivered as well and entered the singletrack ahead of me. I desperately wanted to maintain contact to keep up the motivation and help me get through the singletrack faster than I would alone. But I was fatigued going up the climb and my recovery on the descent was slow and I was alone again. The course was drying quickly and traction improved with some tacky mud. Trouble was, my front tire liked to collect the mud and I still wasn't able to open it up. Plus, my mind and body were pretty unresponsive so my final lap was more like a trail ride than a race. Definitely the worst lap I've ridden in years. Then, to make the lap worse, I got nipped by a couple more hard-charging pros less than 1/2 mile from the finish to drop me out of the top-20 which would have been the only bright spot on the day! No excuse. I'm behind in my training and that was a tough course to start the season on. I have a couple of local road races in a couple of weeks to build fitness, then it's back to the dirt in June. I should be recovered by then!

Coyote Hill Race Report

2009-05-26T08:49:00.001-04:00

Pulled a Rick Nelson

2009-05-21T07:18:00.006-04:00

I took my car in to Augusta for service Wednesday and took advantage of riding some flat terrain for once. I needed a bit of recovery from the previous day's Bradbury ride. I opted for the mtb to add saddle time and continue to get acclimated to the ride. I spun out of town on Rt. 27 and took advantage of roads that branched off and followed the Kennebec River.

I had to take a natural at the turnaround and happened upon an atv trail that was pointed down towards the river bank. I am typically not one to explore the unknown. But, I was inspired by Racin' Rick's (Commuter Rick?) habit of riding wherever he damn well pleases, and steered the bike down the trail. I was treated to a lovely ride along the river bank. It was certainly worth it.

The route back took me along the Kennebec River Rail Trail

and a stop at Kennebec Bike and Ski making for a very enjoyable time spent on 2 wheels.

Bradbury is BAADbury

2009-05-20T06:27:00.005-04:00

Since Tuesday was Community Service day at KHS, I thought I would do my share by making a $3 donation to Bradbury Mountain State Park and do some trail maintenance. Of course, I spent 99.9% of my time riding. But often it's the thought that counts, right?!
Perhaps not, as I'm sitting here with an ice pack on a swollen knee. I have no idea how/when I hurt it. Karma is a bitch!

I met up with Burnsy and Coach Kurt and we got our swerve on. Both guys are rolling 29ers. What am I missing?!

With JB's help making fork adjustments, I am getting more accustomed to the new bike. It rides super plush. But who @ FOX thought this was a good way to save weight? They removed some material and created this void which now serves very well as a mud shelf. So shed an ounce of metal, but replace it with a pound of mud? Not a sensible trade-off IMO.

Racing? Heck, nah. Hockey, lacrosse? Hells, yeah!

2009-05-18T07:26:00.005-04:00

The whole fam packed up and headed to Foxboro, MA for the County Cup hockey tournament. Drake represented the '00 Team Maine, playing against other New England teams for bragging rights. They played 2 games on Friday and Saturday. Sunday depended on their seeding. I actually packed the mtb as I was painfully close to the Glocester Grind in RI. However, since Babs had to go back to KHS Saturday for their prom, my biking was not a priority.

My dad (a former goalie himself) came up from the Cape.

The team ended up the 5th seed and won their consolation game which was nice!

15 hockey players in the pool: EVERYONE ELSE GET OUT!

In other news, our KHS lax team won the MAISAD Championship without me!

Onto the Mud

2009-05-12T20:22:00.002-04:00

Got a beatdown @ Bradbury Mt. State Park today courtesy of Burnsy. He was flowing some ill skill on his big wheels. Conditions were very favorable save for some soft spots and some mud. But the roots were dry and handling was at maximum. It was just a matter of how fast you wanted to go. JB was going fast! This was my first real throwdown on the new bike. It felt very stable, comfortable, and plush. Maybe too plush. The Fox RLC fork felt almost too soft. I still have some dialing in to do. Overall, it was great to be riding in the trees again!

Out of the Box

2009-05-11T22:44:00.003-04:00

Finally put together the Hei Hei Supreme last week and got a couple of road/dirt road shakedown rides in. It was immediately comfortable so confidence is high right out of the gate. New features are the curved top tube. It's funny to actually be able to touch my knees together at the top of the pedal stroke. This is a major aerodynamic advantage for me! It does pinch the water bottle room a bit. This marks the first time I'm running a FOX front shock. So far so good. I felt like it had an extra bit of stiction before the travel got going, but time and proper setup will tell. Also a major new to me feature is the hydraulic disc brakes. I fear these are going to be a major maintenance hassle after dealing with kids on my KHS MTB team's bikes, but I'll give them a proper chance.

The RaceFace seatpost is pretty cool for ease of setup. I like the ability to alter my seat angle based on courses. Hopefully it won't slip mid-race.

My only change was swopping out the flat bar with a riser. I feel so much more in control with that setup. Of course, I added the Superfly Swatter option as these buggers are known to be prominent on New England race courses!

Racin'? Still nah. Ridin'? Hardly.

2009-05-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

Oh how the wheels came off this week! I skipped an easy recovery ride on Thursday thinking I would get a long one in on Friday. But I awoke with a sore throat that I still have to this day! Then Saturday was chock full of KHS classes and lax games for Drake in Cumberland and me in the afternoon. And today? Mother's day is so not about me getting a ride in! Maybe next week.

One of Those Days

2009-05-06T21:38:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was a rough one!

Weather: raining.
Workout: 1 minute max intervals. These suck in general. Today, they all ended mid-way up climbs.
Work: Duty until 10pm.
Bike: Assembled Hei Hei, only to find front wheel was missing piece of the hub that makes the hole smaller to hold the skewer rendering the bike unrideable.
Old Bike: FedEx didn't pick it up, delaying payment from ebay buyer.
Driving: Backed into a light pole after work putting a good dent in the rear bumper.

Today, a different story.
Weather: Clearing.
Workout: A mild tempo day.
Work: Watched girls and boys JV lax games.
Bike: Found missing part still attached to plastic packing piece used to protect wheel while shipping.
Old Bike: Glad shipping was delayed or else I wouldn't have found that part. Bike shipped today.
Driving: No crashes. Pounded dent out, just needs some touch up paint. Saved $1000.
Still don't have Swine Flu.

Babs, on the other hand, broke a mirror this morning. Sucks for her!

Racin'? Nah.

2009-05-05T13:55:00.002-04:00

Had a busy weekend off the bike.
Friday:
10-11:30am Road ride
Noon-12am KHS lax game @ New Hampton
Saturday:
7:30-8am Fireman's breakfast with the fam.
8-10am Fenix's t-ball game
10:30-noon Drake's double header lax games
1-5pm Duty @ the Alfond, lifted weights
6-10pm KHS bus trip to Augusta
Sunday:
Chillaxed morning with fam.
11am-4pm KHS bus trip to Portland Mall. Got 2 hour road ride in down there.
4-6pm Drake & Fenix's hockey clinic
Dinner, Sunday night shows, and deep breaths!

Nice Box

2009-04-30T10:24:00.003-04:00

The 2009 Hei Hei Supreme has arrived. Time to get dirty!

Quabbin Reservoir Road Race Report

2009-04-29T22:27:00.002-04:00

Masters 35+
11th/81

After an ice bath, a personal size pizza, meatball, chocolate milk, salad, mixed fruit, a gallon of water and a fitful night’s sleep in Cambridge, I awoke early @ 5:45am. First impressions of the morning were I would love to call it a trip and head to the comforts of home. I didn’t pre-reg for the race so the thought was even more appealing. However, I rallied and loaded up the Rav and headed west to Ware, MA. Where you ask? Ware. You know you’re pretty spent when you don’t have to take a crap first thing in the morning! Walking up stairs was a bit of a humbling experience as well, the legs were still smoldering. Today’s strategy was survival, pure and simple. My goal was to stay in the pack and see where I ended up at the finish.
The park was gorgeous. But, driving UP to the start/finish snapped me back to reality that this climb was going to be painful. The course already had ample elevation change. I was concerned how I could stay hidden in the pack since you still needed to put out to get up the climbs.
Anyway, I paid my $45(!) bucks, kitted up, and had the same wishes as Saturday: sunscreen, more hydration, 3 bottles. There was no need for warmup. It was friggin warm enough already @ 9am! I hopped in the pack with my fellow compatriots Fred and John and we gave each other that look of “Hmm, yeah, my legs are barking. Go for it if you want.” Fortunately, we had a few other guys with us in the mix so we were hoping 1 of them might be in a position to do something. I knew there was nothing I could do to help so I said nothing!
Our field was sizeable and powerful. There may have been a couple of break attempts, but I seriously couldn’t tell or care from my comfort position in the pack! There were several instances where I was sure I would get dropped while we were climbing. But, miraculously, the pace would ease and we were soon descending as a unit again and it was all good. I conserved fluids as best I could, ate a granola bar and drank a Boost and somehow found myself at the base of the climb with the main field roaring up the hill reeling in a 5-man break that included, who else, Fast Fred! John, who did more work than he should have, was near the front of our group and accelerated with the front runners. Soon, the break was caught and riders spread all across the road as the varying abilities to climb reared their ugly head. I was huffing and puffing and looking ahead saying over and over to myself “When is this going to end?!” I caught the wheel of a big guy as he was picking his way through and suddenly I found myself with the top-10 in sight. I dug deep and stood to the finish, narrowly nipping 10th. Fred won (again!) and John rolled in 8th to cap off an amazing day and weekend. The OA/CycleMania team had a banner day, also winning the 45+ and 55+ fields! This is what makes riding for a team fulfilling!
Looks like I’ll be laying low for the next couple of weeks. Next big event may be a mtb race!

Turtle Pond Circuit Race Report

2009-04-29T21:57:00.004-04:00

Thanks to an amazing and understanding family, I got the green light to hit up a couple of road races this weekend. My OA/CycleMania team was out in force at the Turtle Pond Circuit Race in Loudon, NH and the Quabbin Reservoir Road Race on Sunday. I was eager to be a part of it.

Masters 35+
10th/22 finishers

I left Maine @ 8:45am wearing long pants and a sweatshirt. When I arrived at registration in Loudon at noon, I stepped out of the car into a sauna! It was all of 85 degrees and sun! On the one hand, it was a treat to be able to kit up in only a short sleeve and sorts. On the other hand, it was bloody fricken hot and I immediately wished I had sunscreen, had drunk more fluids pre-race, and had 3 water bottle cages!
(All photos courtesy of Dana and her husband found here)

Well, I lined up with teammates Fred Thomas, John Meerse, Paul Weiss, and others with what I brung. Pre-race strategy was to be sure one of us was in every break and then bring someone home to the finish. It didn’t take long for things to get going. I covered a couple of feeble early attempts. Then Fred went with a CCB guy and they quickly got a gap large enough to slip out of site, and this was lap 1! So John and I went on defense. It was really fun. He would go with any acceleration, while I sat in the pack. When we would catch them and someone else took off, I followed. There was work involved, as the accelerations were hard efforts. But in general, I wouldn’t have to work too hard in the break. At 1 point, 1 guy soloed away from us, but John and I let him go as we didn’t feel like he was a threat to Fred who was now doing his solo time-trial thing up ahead as he dropped his co-escapee.

This back and forth continued for 4 of the 5 laps. As we rounded the bend for the start of the final lap, I drank my last sip of liquid. Ruh, roh. I went into semi-conservation mode, knowing I had 63 hilly miles to race the next day. Another break formed halfway through and luckily it was John’s turn and he rode away with them. I ended up working with a CCB guy, some assclown who is sponsored by himself, and Greg “The Leg” Montello of IF bikes. I did my share of work to try to keep the breakaway in sight. But, as soon as we hit the short, but steep climb, Greg was dropped and the CCB guy took off up the hill. I was done, and left with Mr. Wheelsucker. I settled into a moderate tempo pace. The douche I was with was absolutely no help. When I pulled to the side to let him by he actually stood and coasted! I even asked if he was serious and he said he was done. So I said “You’re not going to finish ahead of me are you?” He shook his head no. So I resumed duty up front and pulled him in like a AAA tow truck. Guess what happened on the straight to the finish? He comes around me and says “Let’s sprint it out.” Are you f’in kidding me?!
I was so dumbfounded I said nothing and watched him speed across the line like he just won the Saturday morning club ride sprint. What a toolbox!
I was thrilled with the team effort as Fred got the win
and John managed to finish 7th in his mini group.

SIP Training Crit Race Report

2009-04-20T10:45:00.004-04:00

Fellow KHS'r Matt Moore and I teamed up and made the commute down to Scarborough early Sunday morning to participate in race #3 of the training series put on by SMCC. This is a low-key, fun event on a great, safe course.

It was a chilly start to the day but things got heated up quickly once the race action got underway. Coach Kurt prescribed 1700kj on the day so I was looking to put in a pretty good effort. My strategy was to stay out front and be in any breaks.
The pace was high from the gun and the key players were checking out the competition. About 5 into the 20 total laps, former PVC Elite team member Morgan MacLeod and OA/CycleMania teammate John Meerse inched away.

Instead of trying to bridge up to them and risk bringing the field, I chose to play blocker and break-coverer for the rest of the way. It was pretty fun work and the effort was pretty solid. At one point Matt caught a ride to the front and passed by with a big "Hey Wheels!" Matt rode intelligently the whole race, keeping in contact with the fast main field right up to thefinal lap. You'll have to check his blog to read about his subsequent bonk and off-course detour!
At the end I was pretty spent and had nothing left for a sprint finish, letting the field swarm around me and I crossed the line unceremoniously, but happy knowing Meerse won the race.
Matt and I took a scenic cool down jaunt to Prout's Neck, even catching a glimpse of Mt. Washington.
It was a great way to spend the morning and I slightly exceeded my training goal for the day.
Next up are Turtle Pond and Quabbin road events this weekend.

Thanks to Dana for the race shots.

What a Difference a Day Makes

2009-04-13T14:29:00.008-04:00

No racing for me this weekend. Some suckas were lucky enough to hit the dirt (mud) this weekend at the Root 66 opener. Freye stole a win from Tim Johnson! You snooze you looze!
Here's a vid:
2009 Hopbrook Dam - Pro/ Cat 1 Race Root 66 Bunny Hopbrook Dam on CyclingDirt

I had the priviledge of riding the roads at home in dramatically different temperature conditions. This weather is really keeping my mind in check from thinking it's actually spring.

Conditions were great one day:

Then again, the grass is green year-round on the turf!

Not so much the next, back to booties and jacket:

Michael Schott Memorial CR Report

2009-04-06T06:53:00.005-04:00

First group ride of the season, oh it was a race! Tough way to start the season, eh?!
KHS students finally returned to campus after their 5 week hiatus so it was a busy week of getting back into the routine and coaching the lacrosse team. Motivation and time to train took a bit of a hit as there was much to do. I even felt a bit uninterested in racing. If the weather was going to be poor I would have bagged it for sure.
Instead, I woke @ 5am on Sunday and headed south for Marblehead, MA to participate in the unofficial traditional kick-off to the road season in New England. The fact that 16 OA/CycleMania teammates were going to be there kind of made me go too!

This is a circuit race on a peninsula that has some rolling hills making for an entertaining and certainly scenic event. This was my 3rd year in a row participating. Last year was not too kind as I flatted after 2 laps and had to retire from the race. This year was a very different story as our new team was making a huge showing and our team director Neil Fitch had a race strategy and issued commands to each of us. Finally, I'm racing on a road team that actually has some organization and direction to capitalize on the team's strengths to lead to success! My role was to partner up with Fred Thomas, possibly the strongest rider I know and Maine's time-trial champ 2 years running, and get in an early break. This was very ambitious since I had no idea where my training was at. To complicate matters, I had no time to ride on Saturday so my expectations were pretty minimal. I got in about a 25 minute warmup and the legs felt pretty goo actually so I decided to just see what would happen. We all went around together the first couple of laps. The pace was pretty snappy from the gun with Fred and Mike Claus working up front. Last year, I remember my legs were not so responsive on the punchy climbs, but I was feeling good this time around. Then I noticed Fred went off the front with a CCB rider.

Luckily I was in good position to bridge up and did so, although I definitely burned a match doing so. We weren't together very long, maybe half a lap, before the pack came to us.

I'm guessing this was just to feel things out, to see what the pack was capable of. It also was a brief indication of whether I could fill my team role. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have been able to do a sustained effort to match Fred. I drifted back into the pack and recovered for the next few laps. From there, I watched things develop up front. There were a couple of larger breaks, but I knew nothing would stick. Fred continued to ride with his nose in the wind. Mike was still working now and again, and Stu Abramson showed his form as well. I stayed towards the front the 2nd half of the race, but not really working. With 2 to go, Fred was again up ahead with 1 other rider and Neil was controlling the pack up front. I had a perfect window to bridge up and quickly grabbed Fred and he and I set off alone on the backside of the course, hoping for a last lap escape. It was wishful thinking. I was in the red zone pretty quickly and Fred had to have been pretty maxed out as well. Nonetheless, we had quite a gap. But after the descent, we hit the wall of wind which just killed our momentum and the single-file front of the pack snaked by before we hit the turn and the hill. I managed to grab on but was mid-pack and had little left in the tank. Plus, it was time for the rest of the team's strategy to play out and the other riders began to help bring our sprinters to the front. On the back side there was a quick touch of the wheels in the pack in front of me, forcing me wide and almost to a dead stop. Meanwhile, the pack charged on ahead and I had no matched left to bridge back up and unceremoniously rode to the finish with the rest of the crash victims.
The good news is, teamate Ron Bourgoin won the sprint! The best laid plans sometimes do work!
I did my traditional post-race ride to Nahant where I spent some time as a kid visiting a relative and back. I was super-psyched for the team and it felt really good to be back in competition, justifying the time and energy spent on training. The motivation is rekindled! Now, I just need to find time to train!

OA/CycleMania Team Makes Cyclingnews.com

2009-04-02T07:48:00.000-04:00

http://www.cyclingnews.com/newsphotos.php?id=/photos/2009/news/apr09/apr02news/OA-Cyclemania_Masters_Cycling_Team

Bradbury Mountain Trail Days Announced

2009-04-01T09:44:00.003-04:00

Get there when you can:

May 3
June 7
July 12
August 2
September 6
October 4
November 1

OA/CycleMania Masters Road Team

2009-03-30T07:37:00.004-04:00

Ripping it up at a geriatric race near you! Hey, the shorts have diapers in them!

Keep Tri-ing

2009-03-29T13:11:00.003-04:00

I was thumbing through an outdated Bicycling magazine and came across this Style Man advice I have to share. This goes out to Coach Kurt and KHS triathletes Meg and Catherine.

Question: "I passed a male rider who was on a high-end tri bike and wearing no jersey. Is is ever OK to ride topless?"

Style Man: "When we are 7 years old, we have a hilarious time playing with friends and creating a new sport out of 3 existing ones - football/basketball, for instance. Those of us who grow up dedicate ourselves to real sports. Triathletes press on, tragically unable to shed their infantile fascinations, to the point where they see nothing ludicrous about romping sans shirt like prepubescents on a summer day. The only humane reaction to those suffering from such disorders is pity."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Tough Time of Year to Ride

2009-03-25T20:29:00.003-04:00

The sun was shining and the thermometer showed 50 so out the door and onto the road I went in my skimpiest outfit of the year: no shoe covers, knee warmers, shorts, wicking long-sleeve, and long sleeve jersey. As soon as I hit the road, I realized I was on the edge of having enough to wear. The big issue was the snowbanks and lakes. The wind would blow across the open fields of snow and send a 30 degree breeze my way. It was also apparent the temps were a good 10 degrees cooler when snowbanks still existed close to the road shoulder. Finally, anytime I went by a lake, it was lake sticking my body in the freezer.

Of course, I am a pansy and this stuff is a challenge for me, not hardcore commuters like Racin' Rick. But I accept my position as a whiny, spoiled pro who would have someone else train for me if I could. So you can't make fun of me!

Right now, this is my motivation to ride:

Riding White Dirt

2009-03-24T20:54:00.005-04:00

I am such an idiot! Why hadn't I done this before?!

I ended up taking my own advice that I gave to fellow KHS rider Matt, and ventured out my door onto the school's nordic ski and snowshoe trails. Since the school is on break and the trails aren't being maintained, I figured it was a good opportunity to put tire to snow without pissing too many people off. Plus, I deduced conditions were probably perfect since the overnight was well below freezing and the start of the day was below 40.

Fortunately I was right and soon found myself gleefully coasting down the trail with a huge grin!
The snow was hardpacked thanks to the season-long grooming snowmobile and the top layer has gone through enough melt/freeze cycles to leave a very grippy top layer. It really was as good as dirt, just noisy as hell!

Only open water, drainage sections could stop me. The few transitions from snow to ground were plain fun!

I followed the trails right down to the lake and checked it out, albeit with some trepidation. The conditions were perfect on top there as well. Plenty of traction. I would have loved to taken a spin around it, but i have no idea whether it's safe or not at this point. Sure seemed it though.

Conditions deteriorated pretty quickly as noon approached, especially sections in the sun. But I could still ride the snowshoe singletrack.

The saddest part is based on the week's weather, this was probably the last opportunity to get a ride in like this. Figures! Bring on the dirt then, well, mud first I guess.

Plan B

2009-03-22T20:04:00.003-04:00

Last week, Drake was sick on Monday. Then Fenix got it Wednesday. Not to be outdone, I got it Friday. It was a light, 24hr deal with a low fever that emerged as I was doing an openers workout on the rollers in preparation for the next day's lactate profile test at the OA Sports Center's open house. My condition improved Saturday morning, but not enough to put myself through the torture test. I did feel good enough to make the drive down for the OA/CycleMania Masters Team meet/greet/photo though. Can't pass up some quality PR!

That left me in a quandry as to what to do today. An easy ride, another day off, a snowshoe? Since it was a sunny, pleasant day and it felt fairly warm, I opted to do the prescribed power workout on the road, my first of the season around home. Despite a rogue snow squall, it was a proper excursion. I was pleasantly surprised at the excellent conditions of the roads. I made a beeline for Rt. 133 via Wayne, then cruised to Livermore Falls and took Rt. 17 home. Aside from 1 section on 17 where the snowbank creeped into the road, it was all good. So no more excuses, unless it's below 40, I'm riding outside from now on. Big deal, huh?!

"Couldn't See the Legs for the Hair"

2009-03-20T10:48:00.005-04:00

The time has come to shed the winter coat even though it's only 32 degrees today.

I'm off to the grand opening of my road team sponsor Orthopaedic Associates' new Performance Center in Saco tomorrow. There will be a team introduction and picture taken, plus Governor Baldacci will be there for the ribbon cutting.

I can't go looking like this:
And, I volunteered to serve as a lab rat and undergo a Lactate Profile Test. I want to look fast!

Trail of Tears

2009-03-19T09:15:00.008-04:00

After a quick group ride with the family and a 3 hour easy road ride on Tuesday (even rode on the bike path, yeah that's an easy ride!), I hit the dirt again yesterday. I had often heard about the Trail of Tears in Barnstable, but have been so enamored with Otis, I never checked it out. Thanks to the fam's flexibility, I decided to make a quick drive to the closest trail head.
I was immediately impressed with the large map and information board and then giddy once on the trail which was a twisty hard pack that was mostly flat, fast and fun! I soon started seeing trail intersections and since I had no experience there, I decided to always keep left, figuring I would establish the border, then dabble in the good shit in the middle, kind of like eating a Hostess Cupcake, the fun is inside.

I hit a couple of finger trails that led to the perimeter or houses, but they were fun and worth the effort too. I did some service road riding as well, but it served as a break from the singletrack. At one end, I popped out onto the end of a small plane airport then was treated to a freshly cut fun trail made by actual Town of Barnstable DPW employees whom I happened upon as the were working. I would have snapped a pic, but they had heavy equipment and weedwackers with blades on them!

There actually is a trail in there, awesome!

I eventually made my way around and wound up back to the start. With about another 1/2 hour to kill, I started exploring the middle stuff and began to get a sense of what all the hubub was about. There was some seriously fun stuff up and down hillsides. At one intersection, I had 4 trails options plus 4 roads that converged there!
I summited one hill and found an observation deck built by the local NEMBA chapter who clearly do a kick-ass job maintaining the area.
It was here I discovered this dog guarding an empty plastic bag. I tried to give it a treat, but I'm not sure he could see it for the bloody tears in its eyes.

There is also this box off to the side where you can sign in and apparently take and leave something. I didn't want no bad juju spirit so I left it well enough alone!

So, Trail of Tears is definitely a good time and well worth exploring in greater detail next time down. For now, unfortunately, it's back to Maine where there's still a ton of snow on the ground. The Surly gets the fenders back on, and I hit the rollers again. Dangit!

Back in the Saddle Again - Otis

2009-03-17T14:09:00.006-04:00

The fam and I are spending a few days on the Cape and the weather is finally cooperating, allowing for actual outdoor riding! I seized the opportunity today and pedaled from Mashpee Commons down 151 to the mountain biking haven known as Otis. Because I’m trying to sell my old Kona and the new one isn’t in, I opted to reward the Surly campus commuter with a ride worthy of its service to me all year ‘round. Thankfully, Steve at the shop put the AED to her and resurrected the Surly's affection for ripping it up off-road.

Following Thom's ritual of consumming DD coffee prior to riding without gears.

Not sure if a latte is kosher.

It’s a rough ride, and a suitable substitute for a gym session, there was some serious slow cadence/bar wrenching sections. The terrain is spelled out well here by Colin. I rode for 2 hours in there and didn’t retrace my treads once, that I know of at least!

The 1/2 pipe, berm section

One of many unique trail markers. Tried to give this guy a boost, but the liquid kept pouring out its neck.

So happy, making sand angels

Mites Tournament

2009-03-17T14:03:00.005-04:00

Spent 24 hours in Rockport for the hockey season-ending mites tournament. The team went 0-2-1. But this age is the best because they were upset for like a nanosecond. As soon as the participation trophies and cookies were handed out, life went on just as great as before!

Bikes are loaded and we're off to the Cape for 4 days!

Studded Tires No Longer Required

2009-03-09T20:01:00.003-04:00

Now you see it,

Now you don't.

Could an outdoor road ride be in the future?!

Snow/Ice is Melting!

2009-03-08T20:44:00.003-04:00

This weekend was filled with closure. We had rain instead of snow; Babs attended a full-moon final snowshoe; the family went to a season-ending ice fishing/sledding party; and I turned off the ice rink tonight. Maybe, I'll ride outside this week, MAYBE!

Ready to Rip

2009-03-06T09:04:00.004-05:00

Someone else in the family is getting anxious to hit the dirt and was doing some indoor training himself!

License to Get Killed

2009-03-03T10:29:00.002-05:00

Boston, abbreviated.

2009-03-02T14:05:00.008-05:00

The fam and I whisked south for the weekend and had big plans for fun in Boston. Fun was had, but plans were curtailed when Sunday's weather forecasted snow and we decided to leave Saturday night instead. Nonetheless, we got a weekend's worth of activity in 24 hours.

After getting stuck in traffic Friday after yet another fatal accident on 295 (that's at least 3 I've been on the road for), we drove straight to The Border Cafe in Hahvahd Squayah and met up with KHS grads Jerry and Katharine for the best margarita's and food north of the border.

Instead of biking, I worked on parking! This was a scene right out of Austin Powers, you know the one.

Saturday morning I was supposed to hit up the loop Thom plotted out for me but the ride was scrapped after the decision was made to leave that night and all activities would have to be completed today.

Just to prove I actually brought my bike AND rollers!

After a big breakfast, it was off to the Museum of Science to meet my mom, then to the North End to meet another KHS grad Danny,

then a window-shop walk around followed by the best pizza and beer in town at Regina's, and topped with an Italian coffee at a small shop to fuel me for the ride home.

So Sunday I was forced into a double session of snowshoeing and roller-riding to make up for lost time. Today is another snow day, so it's skating and kitchen hockey with the boys! Life is good.

Lance Kicks Needle Ass!

2009-02-25T20:51:00.003-05:00

I'm sure y'all have seen the pics. But just in case.

Lance does this:

So he can do this:

Sit down Syringe Man!

Jumping for Joy School's Out!

2009-02-23T22:32:00.003-05:00

Snow Day!

2009-02-23T22:26:00.002-05:00

21" at least

I spy a grill and a bike
Cruel and un-Surly punishment for my trusty campus cruiser

Wacked Out Week

2009-02-23T17:58:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile, I know. But things have been busy, and wacked especially lately!
It's been your standard winter of work/indoor roller-riding/and hockey. Until now!
Let me break down the week for you begining with 2/15:

Sunday: Daytona 500 party. Oh yeah- turn left, repeat! This is where I get my criterium schooling.
Monday: Winter Carnival @ KHS begins; Drake & Fenix are on vacation for a week.
Tuesday: KHS boys hockey loses 3rd game in a row.
Wednesday: I get a random 6 hour smackdown that I fortunately sweated out overnight.
Thursday: Forced day off from training plus a 6" snow storm.
Friday: Winter Carnival in full swing from broomball to ski hill events. Ease back into training. Boys hockey loses 4th in a row.
Saturday: Winter Carnival comes to an abrupt conclusion due to a potential flu outbreak.
Sunday: My first outdoor ride of the season, even though it was on a trainer in the Augusta Marketplace parking lot next to the school bus I drove KHS kids in for the day! KHS headmaster announces school is officially closing for the next 2 weeks due to a confirmed influenza outbreak. Including spring break, that's a 5 week vacation!
Monday: 22" of fresh white stuff falls, SNOW DAY!

WTF is this week gonna bring?!

Burn Out Week

2009-01-26T09:40:00.003-05:00

Whew! Had a pretty intense week of work and training. It was fittingly capped off Saturday night with the annual Christams tree burning party. Hey, that's how we roll here in Maine!

Today was a great day!

2009-01-20T15:57:00.000-05:00

This looks like semi-fun

2009-01-20T15:48:00.000-05:00

New Road Team

2009-01-12T16:45:00.003-05:00

Orthopaedic Associates, CycleMania, and Portland Velo Club all joined forces to create a team of Elite Maine Masters road racers. Some 31 other guys from around the state and I will be flying these common colors at the major races in new England this season. Corner Cycle guys beware!

Sure signs the 2008 season is over...

2009-01-02T21:31:00.003-05:00

...and preparation for 2009 has begun:

Babs nabbed the last egg nog in the supermarket and only 1 Belgian beer remains in the fridge

Been hanging around the gym

Started cross-training

Ridden the rollers 3 times already

Let's get it on!

It's not the size of the tree...

2008-12-30T13:51:00.001-05:00

Wait, yeah it is!

Merry Christmas!

Off-season Report

2008-12-19T09:45:00.003-05:00

Staying hydrated:

Maintaining optimum weight:

Exercising:

It is so ON next season!

2008-12-17T18:56:00.003-05:00

Closed and Approved
Member: Todd Wheelden License: INTL XC Request to change category from Semipro to Pro

Closed and Approved
Member: Todd Wheelden License: INTL Cyclo-cross Request to change category from Cat 2 to Cat 1

LIVIN' THE DREAM BABY!

2009 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour

2008-12-11T11:42:00.002-05:00

NE racers set your training schedule to peak in August!
cyclingnews.com article here.
USA Cycling announcement here.